


This is Love in a Different Time, a Different Place

by allmilhouse



Category: Barry (TV 2018)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Kissing, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25681924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmilhouse/pseuds/allmilhouse
Summary: After three days of hiding in a hotel room with Hank, Barry doesn't want it to end
Relationships: Barry Berkman/NoHo Hank
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	This is Love in a Different Time, a Different Place

Barry never used to mind the waiting, having spent most of the past few years perpetually in downtime between hits, or waiting for the coast to clear. He knew the score. Catch up on some pay-per-view movies in the hotel room, or maybe break out the xbox if he was at home. Order some Doordash but only crack the door enough to reach one arm out, vainly reaching for the food. He could lie low, it was part of what made him so good at his job. 

And he really thought it would be easier, hiding out with Hank. If he had to be honest, he did think that maybe they’d have sex the entire time. They didn’t normally have this kind of time together, and he wanted to take advantage of it, the three days would passing by in a flurry of lust-based distractions. Worst case scenario, they fire up the netflix and point out all the inaccuracies in action movies. 

But this was becoming less of a fun hangout with a friend-slash-sex buddy, and more of a sad reminder. He didn’t have Hank to come home to everyday. Once it was safe to come out again, they’d go their separate ways, and only get together when there was time, or a job needed to be done. 

It took him a while to figure that out, but once he did, the thought wouldn’t go away: _he was enjoying playing house with Hank_. It was fun, taking turns putting on their most nondescript clothes to get dinner from the vending machines, or if they were feeling lucky, the 7-11 on the corner. They’d each only brought one bag, but Hank had something along the lines of twelve different outfits, each with a distinct mood. 

Hank would shout _“Honey, I’m home!”_ when he returned, and Barry would look at him like he really had been gone all day, and not just on a five minute Doritos run. He tried to match the adoration he’s seen in Hank’s eyes, but he knows he’ll never come close. He worked hard to show his love in other ways, just to even the score, but it was still a challenge.

Hank is a perpetual affection machine, surprising him in new ways. He was good at foot rubs, like really good. Barry had been thumbing through Gene’s book again, trying to find this one passage about how to tap into a character, when the bed dips, and next thing he knows, Hank’s kneeling next to him, gently massaging his feet. “Don’t worry about it bro, just read your thing.” He tried, so help him he tried, but when Hank brought out the pumice stone, he tossed the book aside, hauled up his ridiculous partner by the collar of his bright polo shirt and kissed him. 

Even just the little things, like sharing a bed, were now a source of thrills for him. Hank never spent the night at his, because of his roommates. And something felt weird about staying over with Hank at the stash house- he’d sneak in for a bit, but would always leave before it could approach anything _domestic_. But here, in this shitty hotel room that was basically in Pasadena, he could indulge in this rare fantasy. 

Hank talked in his sleep. Only about half of it was in English, and a lot of it was mumbled, but he could still pick out a few words. When he first heard his own name the previous night, his eyes shot open, ready to grab his gun and run for it. But Hank snuggled closer, and he heard something like “that’s better”, and settled back into his role of Hank’s oversized teddy bear. 

He sang in the shower, just loud enough to be heard from the main room. It was eager, and out of tune, and Barry was convinced it was a song Hank had made up by himself, but he got used to it. Mostly because Hank showered twice a day. 

It was necessary though, in that hot, hellish room. The A/C was on full blast, day and night, but it wasn’t enough to beat the dry summer heat. He spent a good twenty minutes watching a half-filled Red Bull can shift on the table, the artificial breeze creating this perfect portrait of absolute patheticness. A perfectly quotidian thing, somehow becoming enchanting under these less-than-perfect circumstances. 

Somehow Hank’s coping with it. He’s still sleeping, despite the bright morning sun breaking through the faded curtains. It illuminates long streaks of his body, his pale skin downright glowing, and Barry couldn’t take his eyes off of him. He thinks about sneaking back into bed, letting his hands roam everywhere his eyes couldn’t reach and seeing how long it took Hank to wake up. Maybe tracing the lines on some of his tattoos, something he always liked to do. The man had so much ink on him, it would take Barry years to map it all out. 

But for now they had the time. 

Hank blinks his eyes open, and Barry blushes, caught in his open staring. “Morning handsome,” Hank says, stretching and flexing, putting on more of a show, each bare limb slipping out from under the thin sheet, until Barry finally tears his eyes away.

“Hey, Hank?” His mouth’s gone dry suddenly, but he can’t handle another day like this. In a few hours, the call would come that the warrant had run out, and the cops had to stop searching the stash house, and Hank would go back to his life there, away from him. “Do you- do you want to go on a date? Like, a real date. When this is over and we can go-”

He props himself up on elbows, leaning forward. “Hell yeah, buddy. What are you doing tonight? There’s this place on Ventura, I know the owner and we can get a table any time you want.” He’s reaching for his phone, his finger pausing just above the screen. It lights up anyway, showing off his wallpaper. Barry’s first selfie, he’s half out of frame, the lighting’s terrible, but Hank smiles every time he looks at it. “Unless that’s too soon?” There’s a note of apprehension in Hank’s voice, and Barry’s on his feet in an instant, crawling into bed. 

“No time like the present,” he says, pulling Hank in for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> when your not-bf has to hide from the cops, do you:  
> a) hide out with him  
> b) learn his love languages  
> c) fall even more in love with him  
> d) all of the above
> 
> title from modern love by mother mother


End file.
